Opak Kyilkhor Chöling
Amitabha Foundation Retreat Center, Nepal
Phowa Course (March 16-22) and Introduction to True Nature of Mind (March 26)
His Eminence Choje Ayang Rinpoche has been conducting Phowa courses all over the world for over four decades. Rinpoche had plans to teach Phowa in Nepal too when the Amitabha Temple was completed. Unfortunately, it could not happen as planned, due to the Nepal earthquake in 2015 that damaged the newly constructed Amitabha Temple in Kopan. When the renovation of the temple was complete, the Covid-19 pandemic followed soon thereafter. This affected the whole world and travel and public gatherings were restricted.
To fulfill the longtime requests and the fervent wish of many local devotees of Vajrayana followers, Rinpoche has now decided to bestow both the Nyingma and Drikung Lineage Phowa teachings at the Amitabha Foundation Retreat Center, Kopan, Buddanilkantha Nagarpalika Ward-11, Kathmandu Nepal.
For a description, download the flyer in English, Tibetan and Nepali. To register and find information about accommodations, meals, local transportation and other details please visit this website. At this time, translation will be available in Nepali, Russian, Mandarin and Cantonese. Rinpoche often teaches in English, but this hasn’t been confirmed yet. Please bring an AM/FM portable radio with a headset.
Please note that there are commitments to taking the Phowa course. If you take the Phowa course for the first time, Rinpoche asks that you attend all sessions. According to Rinpoche’s instructions, those who have completed the Ngondro (Preliminary Practices with 100,000 accumulations) can attend the course without taking a commitment in order to receive the teachings. For other interested people (including those who are currently doing the Ngondro) you can either promise to finish the Ngondro within 3 years, or accumulate 150,000 recitations of the Vajrasattva long (100 Syllable) mantra with visualization and 150,000 recitations of the Buddha Amitabha mantra (OM AMI DEWA HRI) with visualization within 3 years. Both Vajrasattva and Buddha Amitabha practices as required for these commitments are taught during the Phowa course. Most students can complete their commitments easily with approximately one hour a day of practice over the 3 years.
Students must commit to do the Phowa practice daily for 10 days after the course, and to purchase or make either a Buddha Amitabha statue or a Buddha Amitabha Pure Land thangka, as a support for their practice. Rinpoche strongly advises everyone to do the complete practice (approximately 2 hours) at least twice a month after the course, preferably on the full moon and new moon, for the rest of their lives.
If Rinpoche offers the Introduction to the True Nature of the Mind, this will probably be after not before the Phowa course. However this has not been confirmed.
